Rose McGowan says she felt trapped by her silence about Harvey Weinstein

Rose McGowan has been one of the most outspoken voices about sexism and sexual assault in the film industry, leading the charge against Hollywood with the #RoseArmy and opening up about her own rape by a studio executive.

Now in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the actor, director and activist has spoken out about how it felt keeping the secret that Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped her during the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.

“I’ve had this giant monster strapped to me for 20 years,” she said. “So many women have been strapped around him. He ate so many of our souls that he couldn’t tell which way was which. He’s always been gunning for me. But that’s OK - I’ve been gunning for him, too.”

Her new memoir, Brave, out on 30 January, is “gunning” for Weinstein, going into more detail about her horrific experiences with him, and attacking the whole wider “eco-system of Hollywood.”

She posted the cover on her Instagram saying “Find courage in the New Year with #Brave. This is for survivors. This is for us.

McGowan started writing Brave three years ago as “social re-engineering project” which she hopes will reform people’s ways of thinking. “I knew from a very early age that this messaging system was very, very wrong and needed to be brought down,” she explained.

And she’s not done fighting yet: “They built a motherfucking beast, and they built a motherfucking problem. I am that problem to all of them. He represents all of them to me. And that’s why he must be slayed.”

It was also announced this week that McGowan would also be starring in her own reality series, Citizen Rose, which she wants to use as a force for change and healing. The docu-series will launch on 30 January with a two-hour show, followed by four additional episodes which will “look at the world through the artist/activist’s eyes.” Roll on end of January.